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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: bombay is back
With her teammates chattering in her ears, andrea tried to focus on their voices instead of the fact that coach bombay couldn't even bother to show up to the game.
"hey, team! team!" they heard from the stands, looking up to see don tibbles staring down at them. "we're gonna be great today, right? so where's gordon?"
"you tell us." luis answered with a shrug.
"i don't believe this!" tibbles said.
he didn't have time to trash on bombay, because the referee had skated over to the team, checking the time on his wrist. "team USA, i'm sorry, but without a coach behind the bench, you'll forfeit the game."
"but you can't do that!" andrea argued. it wasn't their fault bombay had skipped out, leaving them coach-less. they had showed up; they should get to play.
charlie suddenly stood up straighter. "we have a coach! miss mckay!" he called into the stands, skating over to where the woman was making her way to find a seat.
after a hushed conversation between the two, the referee looked at miss mckay for confirmation. she hesitated, before looking at the team. "well, what are we waiting for, the ice to freeze? let's play!"
andrea was so relieved, she skated over to charlie, wrapping him in a hug. "thank you, you saved us."
he smiled, hugging back. "miss mckay saved us."
the game commenced, germany winning the puck and skating down the ice, taking a shot at goldberg. he deflected it with his pad, andrea catching the rebound and taking off down the ice.
you're supposed to be good. she thought. just. be. good.
she wound up for a slap shot, the puck whizzing past germany's goalie and into the net. with a sigh of relief, andrea crowded together with her team, celebrating her goal.
through the noise of the crowd and the sound of the buzzer, she could barely hear it. but there it was, the duck whistle, carrying over all of the racket.
the arena quieted, everyone looking to where the sound had come from. there he was, gordon bombay, walking towards the bench while still blowing the whistle.
the five members on the ice turn to him, staring with disdain. "look who finally shows up," fulton spat.
"just ignore him. come on, jones, take the face-off." jesse said, nudging her lightly.
the players lined up on the ice, ignoring coach bombay, who only seemed to get more desperate. andrea glanced over to charlie, who was still looking at bombay. she knew the two were close, but she felt bad. it wasn't fair of bombay to do this to someone who was horribly loyal to him.
bombay continued blowing the duck whistle, sounding almost sad. he made it to the bench, opening the door and joining the rest of the team and miss mckay.
the ducks on the ice came together again, guy hesitantly nodding towards the bench. "come on, what have we got to lose?"
"respect! he'll dump us the minute it's all over." fulton argued.
coach bombay was no longer suit-clad, instead back in his team USA jacket, his hair looked soft and free of gel. still, just because he looked like he was back, didn't mean he was. "come on in! let's go, come on!" he called, motioning for them to skate over.
reluctantly, jesse, fulton, and guy skated over, but andrea hovered behind. charlie turned to look at her. "what's wrong?"
she shrugged. "it's stupid."
he placed an arm on her shoulder. she didn't shove him off, she didn't call him gross. she just looked him in the eyes, embracing the funny feeling that had returned again. "it's not stupid if it's bugging you." he said.
"i just... i can't stop thinking about what he said to me. about how i'm supposed to be good... how i'm not good enough."
charlie shook his head. "he wasn't himself, he didn't mean that. he was just looking for someone to blame other than himself."
she didn't look convinced. charlie took off his helmet, still looking her in the eyes. "andrea," he said. "you're the best player on this whole team. and even if you weren't, so what? who cares if one person thinks you're not good enough? i think you're more than enough. hell, drea, we all think that. so... can you come with me? give him one more chance?"
her heart was beating so hard, she was sure it would fall out at any moment. nobody'd ever called her that before- drea. and she didn't want anybody else to. she liked the way it sounded when charlie conway said it, and only when he said it.
scared to speak, in fear of embarrassing herself, she nodded and skated towards the bench. coach smiled at her in an almost desperate, apologetic way.
"team," bombay said. "guys, i was wrong... and i'm sorry. i forgot about the team, and the team is all i have. all i want... is another chance. just one more shot. im back, okay? believe me."
the game against germany went on, after the team had forgiven their coach—partially, at least. most of them were still nervous, scared to trust him again just to have it thrown back in their face. but for the sake of winning the game, they carried on.
the score was tied at two for both teams in the end of the third. jesse got behind the net, calling the flying v, an original ducks play.
the players all lined up in the famous 'v' position, passing the puck around, each of them having a turn with it.
the puck was back on andrea's stick as she quickly glanced at the clock. with only six seconds left, she passed the puck up to averman. "shoot!" she yelled.
shoot he did, scoring the third goal for team USA, and pulling them out of a tie at the last second.
"I've had a lot of big distractions since being here in L.A.; this is a distraction." coach bombay said, a cardboard cutout in hand. it was life-sized, or at least, bombay-sized, and it showed him in his fancy suit promoting the demon that had possessed him; hendrix. he lit a match, dropping it into the metal barrel he had brought them to. "this is a fire in a barrel."
the team was sat on benches outside, the warm breeze a welcome change from the icy cold air of the hockey rinks. bombay picked back up the cardboard cutout, shoving it into the burning barrel. "this, is a distraction, in a fire in a barrel. any questions?"
andrea looked behind her, where charlie was sat, and the two shared a smile. happy to have her coach back, she clapped, her teammates soon following.
